STATISTICS 200: Elementary Statistics
Instructor: Dr. Andrew (Andy) Wiesner
Office: 416 Thomas Building
Phone: 814-863-5653
Email: Use ANGEL email system under Communicate tab. Emails received outside of ANGEL
may go unanswered! NOTE: If you have your ANGEL email forwarded to another internet
account then hitting reply to that email will NOT reply through ANGEL but instead in webmail.
These, too, will not be answered. You will need to return to ANGEL and reply using the ANGEL
email tools.
Office Hours: Since many of you have working schedules and therefore different planned study
days, setting office hours seems pointless. I will routinely check my ANGEL email several times
during the course of a day and will respond promptly.
Course Description:
Statistics is the art and science of using sample data to make generalizations about populations.
The topics covered in this course include:
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
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methods for collecting and summarizing data
methods for evaluating the accuracy of sample estimates
techniques for making statistical inferences
Users of statistics -- researchers, government agencies like the Census Bureau and the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, companies like the automakers and drug industry, etc. -- make extensive use of
the computer in applying statistical methods to their problems. So will you! This course will offer
you plenty of practice in analyzing data from a variety of areas. As a result you should be well
prepared for problem-solving involving statistics in the rest of your college courses, as well as
gaining an understanding of the role of statistics in your daily life.
Lesson Notes: Notes will be available in the Lessons folder in ANGEL (https://cms.psu.edu).
These will correspond to the chapters in the text.
Prerequisite: 2 units in algebra
Required Materials (3 items):
Textbook: You may purchase course materials from MBS Direct (the bookstore used by
Penn State's World Campus). For pricing and ordering information, please see the MBS Direct
Web site, located at http://direct.mbsbooks.com/psude.htm. MBS Direct can also be contacted at
1-800-325-3252. Materials will be available at MBS Direct approximately three weeks before the
course begins. Alternatively, you may seek these texts from other favorite bookstores. (Note: Be
sure you purchase the edition/publication date listed below.) The following text is required:

Agresti, A. and Franklin, C. (2007). Statistics: The Art and Science of Learning From
Data.. 1st ed. Prentice Hall, New York. This textbook is bundled with Student Version 15
of the Minitab software if the book is purchased through the MBS Direct bookstore.
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Software: We will be using the statistical software called Minitab. If you purchased the
book through the MBS bookstore then a student version was bundled with the text. If not, then
you will need to acquire a copy (if you do not already have one). Version 15 is now available,
but if you have Version 14 that should suffice. Any versions below 14 will need replaced. Some
purchasing resources are the PSU Computer Store or through Minitab at http://www.minitab.com
.
WebAssign: This is a new online system that will be used this semester to deliver and collect
homework. This will need to be purchased at a cost of $14.95 for the semester. To purchase, go
to http://www.webassign.com/ and login. To login use your PSU webmail prefix (e.g. ABC123)
as your username and password; use psu for institution. Note that the username/password are
capital letters.
Assignments and Grading*
Exam 1 (proctored) - 60 minutes
20% Sep 22 – Sep 28
Exam 2 – 60 minutes
20% Oct 13 – Oct 19
Exam 3 – 60 minutes
20% Nov 10 – Nov 16
Exam 4 – 120 minutes
20% Dec 15 – Dec 21
Homework (Best 10 of 11)
5%
1 per lesson
Lab Activity (Best 10 of 11) – Requires Minitab
5%
1 per lesson
Unit Quizzes (Best 10 of 11) (30-50 minutes) – Requires Minitab
5%
1 per lesson
Mastery Quizzes (Best 10 of 11) (30-50 minutes)
5% 1 per lesson
*Start times are 12:00AM of that day. End times are midnight of the due day.
Exams (20 % each): Four (4) exams will be given during the semester. Although each
exam will reflect material most recently covered, the material is cumulative in nature. The exams
will be available through ANGEL quiz tool. See Assignments and Grading above for the
allotted time. Once you open the exam that time will begin and you will have that amount of time
to complete the exam. As the time deadline ends, the exam will automatically be submitted.
NOTE: THE FIRST EXAM MUST BE PROCTORED.
Proctor Rules for Exam 1: Have your selected proctor complete the form that is
available at Proctor Form. This form should be sent to me at ajw13@stat.psu.edu 3 to 5 days
prior to the date you plan on taking your exam. I will then email your proctor the password to
unlock the exam. Please have your proctor enter Proctor Stat200 into the subject line of their
email.
Homework (5% of final grade) – The semester will consist of eleven (11) homework
assignments with your lowest two (2) scores being dropped. ALL homework will be completed
and submitted using the WebAssign online package. They will be typically be available for one
(1) week and will be due by midnight of the end date. The problems will reflect material to be
covered in that lesson. The grading of homework will be done using a “100 / 0 method. If all
problems are attempted and all work is shown the student will receive a 100, even if your final
answer is incorrect. Otherwise, the homework will receive a 0.
Unit Quizzes (5% of final grade) – The semester will consist of eleven (11) unit quizzes
with your lowest two (2) scores being dropped.
2
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Each lesson will include a Unit Quiz
The computer you use must have MINITAB in order to complete the quiz.
The quizzes will be timed (typically 30 to 50 minutes).
Once you begin the quiz you the timer begins and will not stop. Your quiz will
automatically be submitted after the time expires.
All unit quizzes will be delivered using the ANGEL quiz tool.
Unit quizzes will pertain to content covered during that lesson.
If you miss a quiz, you will have the opportunity to take it but a grade will not be
recorded.
CAUTION: Since these quizzes will be delivered online the issue of technical
problems may arise, for example ANGEL may not be unavailable or your
internet connection might be interrupted. In the case where the problem is
ANGEL availability, the deadline will be extended. However, if your internet
connection is the problem then on time completion is the student's responsibility.
This problem is most common for those students who do not plan accordingly;
that is, they wait until the last few hours or minutes prior to the deadline until
they take the quiz.
Mastery Quizzes (5% of final grade) - The semester will consist of eleven (11) unit
quizzes with your lowest two (2) scores being dropped.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Each lesson will include a Mastery Quiz
Minitab is NOT needed for mastery quizzes
The quizzes will be timed (typically 30 to 50 minutes).
Once you begin the quiz you the timer begins and will not stop. Your quiz will
automatically be submitted after the time expires.
All mastery quizzes will be delivered using the ANGEL quiz tool.
Mastery quizzes will consist of questions from that lesson PLUS all previous
lessons up until the midterm is given. That is, the mastery quizzes will be
cumulative only for the content that will be covered on the subsequent midterm
If you miss a quiz, you will have the opportunity to take it but a grade will not be
recorded.
CAUTION: Since these quizzes will be delivered online the issue of technical
problems may arise, for example ANGEL may not be unavailable or your
internet connection might be interrupted. In the case where the problem is
ANGEL availability, the deadline will be extended. However, if your internet
connection is the problem then on time completion is the student's responsibility.
This problem is most common for those students who do not plan accordingly;
that is, they wait until the last few hours or minutes prior to the deadline until
they take the quiz.
Lab Activity (5% of final grade) - The semester will consist of eleven (11) unit quizzes
with your lowest two (2) scores being dropped.
o
o
o
Each lesson will include a Lab Activity
All Lab Activities will be available in ANGEL as a word document. You will
complete the activity by typing your responses on the document, saving it, and
submitting your solutions to the activity’s respective drop box in the Lesson
folder.
There is no time restriction other than the due date.
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o
o
Minitab will be necessary!
Submit only COMPLETED activities. Multiple submissions may result in a zero
for that activity.
Upon submission the solutions will be available in the weekly lesson folder.
o
Grading Scale: The final letter grading will follow the standard University guidelines
and are as follows (All grades will be available in the ANGEL grade book under Report tab):
F
D
C
C+
B-
B
B+
A-
A
0
60
70
77
80
83
87
90
93
Collaboration: You are expected to complete all assignments on your own. You are strongly
advised to consult the Penn State Academic Integrity Policy at:
http://www.science.psu.edu/academic/Integrity/index.html
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